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It's been a stunning fall from grace for Brad Bergesen. A few months ago he was being featured in that TV promo to promote the upcoming season.
Even though that didn't work out well, he was considered important enough to this season that he was chosen for that spot.
Now he is headed back to the minors after just three starts in 2010.
I'm surprised the O's are sending him out. It will be a popular move with the fans who get restless after a player's performance falls off, even over a short period of time. The 2-12 start didn't help his cause.
Maybe this is also a sign that Bergesen is so far off his game right now that the club doesn't feel he can get it back right now vs. Major League hitters.
Maybe Bergesen's reactions last night had something to do with this.
I've never seen him look so uncomfortable on a mound. With each pitch out of the strike zone he seemed to want to work faster, for some reason. He was fidgety and just looked like that mound was the last place he wanted to be.
When he was pulled from the game he sprinted toward the clubhouse. I don't know what that was all about.
Bergesen's story was compelling. Home-grown product pitches at each minor league level, getting better along the way. He passes other more highly regarded prospects to have Major League success. He was considered one of the AL's top rookie pitchers at the time of his injury last July.
But when Bergy averages 5.2 walks per game as he has in three starts this year, something is wrong. He has pinpoint control when he is right. Last night he could not throw his slider within six inches of the plate.
Can Bergesen get back here?
I bet he will. He has too much character, not to mention sink on his pitches. Right now a lot of people are doubting him. But he's been in that spot before.
The Bowie Baysox will host the first Meet The Team Day of the season this Sunday, April 25, before the Baysox take on the Akron Aeros at 2:05 p.m. Baysox players and coaches are available for autographs on the concourse level of Prince George's Stadium from 12 p.m. until 1:15 p.m. Baysox Pitching Coach Kennie Steenstra and that day's starting pitcher and catcher will not be available for autographs.
Ryan --
I think you may be confusing Tillman with Arrieta (re: velocity). I remember Tillman always having been described as having a low to mid 90s fastball, never in the upper 90s such as Arrieta. My impression was that it was Tillman's command of the fastball with movement at a very young age that was most impressive about him. Last year when he first came up his fastball was around 95 but flat, as he progressed the fastball came down to 92-ish but developed some movement (nerves? overthrowing?). My concern would be much more about his location and command than the velocity.
hi steve....would you make this deal??....adrian gonzalez and nick hundley for luke scott,brandon snyder,wilfredo perez andjeremy guthrie. would san diego? how about gonzalez for adam jones,brandon snyder and david hernandez??
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I don't think SD would do either deal. They would likely want more pitching. - Steve
Maybe they can teach Bergy a knuckleball while he's in Norfolk.
Steve - I think this is the best move for both the Orioles and Bergy (he'll be back by the end of the year I predict). Much better to work on mechanics at AAA than the majors. Surprised they aren't calling up Arrieta as opposed to Castilla though. I hope they leave Berken as the long man where he has excelled.
It's not Bergesen's numbers that got him optioned. You said it yourself "I've never seen him look so uncomfortable on a mound". He's clearly not in a good place right now and throwing him into the fray against the Red Sox and Yankees over the next few weeks wouldn't have helped him one bit. I was concerned about the effects that last year's line drive would have on him this season but never expected it to be this bad.
I would bring Arrieta up to replace him for two main reasons. Berken is having great success where he is. Truely one of the bright spots of the bullpen. Disrupting that could cause more unraveling of an already fragile pen. Secondly, Norfolk currently has 6 starters for 5 spots. It makes sense to swap a starter for a starter and no one is outpitching Arrieta at that level right now. Arrieta was also on the same schedule and could jump right into the rotation without affecting his side sessions.
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With off days coming up the O's won't need a full five-man rotation until as late as May 1st. So I guess they went with more pen hope until then. Maybe we see Arrieta then. - Steve
Would you want the Bergesen that we have seen so far this season facing off against the Yankees and the Red Sox in his next 2-3 starts? Because that is what would happen provided the chance that he were to stay in the Bigs. That wouldn't be good for anybody... nor would skipping his spot in the rotation due to the days off... that doesn't help him work on his pitches that clearly need some work.
Sending him back to AAA is really the only way. Give him a few starts with the impression that if he gets his stuff back together he will be the first guy called up when needed. Hopefully he can get it together and be back with the team in under a month.
I'm with you... he's too good of a competitor and too much of a hard worker to let this phase him for long. He'll go down there and get it back together and we'll be seeing him again sooner than some might think.
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I think it's a good point about the schedule. Would be hard to "find yourself" vs. those teams. I also agree that we could see him again soon. - Steve
Steve,
I agree that Brad will go down to work on things and set himself straight, and will be back on the O's at some point this season. I wrote a comment last night that I think got lost in limbo (I was on my phone which may be the reason) that said I thought Bergesen would get 1 more start.
However this move doesn't surprise me one bit, particularly for the things you mentioned above. He did not look comfortable out there AT ALL last night, especially after the 2 defensive miscues that should have gotten him out of the 3rd inning with 0 or 1 runs given up. Before that I thought he looked much better than his previous 2 starts.
We all should remember that he had a whopping 2 starts at AAA before being called up last year. I don't think anyone should remotely considering this move as giving up on him, rather he is going down to work out his problems and get better in an environment with much less pressure (just like Chris Tillman).
No matter what happens I'm rooting for the guy and I think he will be fine. I was at the game last year when he nearly pitched a complete game against Detroit, was the most fun game I was at all year.
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Good points, I agree Jeff. I also remember that complete-game, five-hitter he pitched vs. Atl. One of the best pitched games from last year. - Steve
I hope my comment that sending Bergy down was the right thing to do wasn't interpreted as doubting him. I love the guy, his grit and his selflessness, and look for him to get fixed up and come back ASAP. To me he isn't only an important player, but a symbol of how far the organization has come, so when he's struggling it's a problem on both fronts. Like everyone else here, though, I watched his demeanor on the mound last night, and once things headed south he just looked lost. I wouldn't want to send this young man out to a major league mound again until he's gotten his stuff and his confidence back.
kpb: I agree with your last post about Bergy, which seemed uncharacteristically reasonable. Are you feeling okay?
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I know you haven't given up on Bergy. You can usually tell the difference from someone just lashing out, writing a 'get that guy out of here' post and someone who has some reason to thier comments. - Steve
Steve,
What do you see the chances of this being the 2011 opening day rotation - Matusz, Guthrie, Arrieta, Tillman, Britton?
I think the time has come to give the young guys as much of a look as possible, this year is like the Hindenburg and we might as well use it constructively. Only way O's move toward contention is if guys like Bell, Wieters, Britton, Arrieta can take major strides and the team maintains health. This one year fill in stuff with Tejada/Atkins has to stop. We can lose with them, we might as well lose with prospects for cheaper.
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That could be. Britton has just started at AA, so it might be a reach for him to be in the 2011 Opening Day rotation. Then again, he could also get to Norfolk later this year and maybe be pitching for a spot in camp next March. - Steve
Dear Steve,
Thanks for patrolling the bridges for Orioles fans. I posted the below on Roch's blog, but I'm eager for your and your readers' thoughts.
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I floated this with no follow-up last year...let's try again. Since we have no wins or healthy players left to talk about, and I think we could get together with some "School Spirit" on this...
Anyone know the best means to start a viable petition? It seems that the least thing Hilton could do for the Orioles (and, frankly, themselves) would be to just have a nice Orioles mural on the back of the ugliest building in downtown Baltimore (the Block excluded) to face INTO the stadium. Great conversation starter for traveling business ("I stayed in Matusz's glove last night"), does not FIX how that hotel ruined the view of downtown from RF but would at least stop the Hilton from seeming like the tall and fat guy at a concert, and properly marketed could make them some scratch from doing it. You could do a new one every year (or use it for a "All-Time Orioles" collage, which always works well IMO for murals, with Cal, Brooks, Frank, Boog, Eddie, etc.), fans could vote on who was there, they could reveal it for every Opening Day, Kate Wheeler would be posting a tiny part of it for us to guess where it came from, etc.,...
Anyone else like this idea?
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I do and invite others to comment or pass along thoughts on how to try and make it happen. - Steve
Looking at the schedule when they will bring up a 5th starter I have to believe its Tillman unless Arrieta is lights out between now and then. You aren't going to bring up a rookie to face Boston in front of 40,000 screaming Boston fans and then up to frigid Minesota for your next start.
Will you write the same thing about Hobgood in a few years when he is still sturggling with his control? :=)
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Go back and read one of about a dozen posts I've written about Rowell and his struggles. If Hobgood struggles, I will be writing plenty about it, you shouldn't even need to ask that question. - Steve
Steve,
I think this just proves to us that Arrieta, Britton, Hernandez and Matusz are a huge part of our future. If i was the Orioles i would gave Arrieta an opportunity now to prove his worth. He deserves the chance. With Britton i would gave him an chance later this season. He continues to get an impressive amount of gb's and good k's against AA hitters. I think he is almost a finish product, the only thing he needs is experience against big league hitters. This season is almost a wash. Its time to get these guys a chance to succeed and fail this season in the bigs. That way next year we can begin(hopefully) to see a successful orioles team on the diamond.
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I know you said later this season on Britton. I really think he needs more minor lg seasoning. Right he's made just three AA starts. No need to rush someone right up from AA - see Ponson and Cabrera and how that worked out. - Steve
I'VE SAID THIS ALL BEFORE THAT I DIDNT THINK ROBERTS, REIMOLD AND BERGY WHERE NOT 100 %. SO FAR 2/3 I'M RIGHT ON. PUT MIGGY ON THE DL TOO AND MOVE ON. WITH HAVE MINORS WITH PLENTY OF OPTIONS AND ITS EARLY IN THE SEASON.
I KNOW THEY DONT WANT TO RUSH THEM, BUT WE KEEP LOSING. LUIS LEBRON TO THE BULLPEN, WARRING OR THE GUY AT FREDERICK THAT HITS REAL WELL CANT REMEMER HIS NAME WYDANSKI OR SOMETHING. OR SYNDER AND HUGHES AND THIS WILL HELP MOORE AND ANDINO DOWN IN NORFOLK. OR BRING UP A STARTER FROM BOWIE FOR A FEW GAMES. WE HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT KEEP ON LOSING. DAVE TREMBLEY MAYBE A GREAT GUY BUT HE'S RUNNING OUT OF OPTIONS...
STORMY IN SOUTH POINT
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Appreicate the post. It is much easier on the eyes not in all caps if you can do that in the future. Thanks, Stormy. - Steve
Different topic, but the thought came to me based on the question of the day. I'd go ahead and give Brian Roberts this season's Most Valuable Oriole.
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Huh???
And Hernandez????
Bad body language and too emotional last night for Brad. He think he was thrust into the mix a little to soon after just a good half of a year.
How many days does Bergy have to spend in the minors before being promoted back up to the majors? Perhaps the plan is to give him a start or two in AAA and then bring him back up?
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I believe the rule is a player must stay there for at least ten days, unless there is an injury on the big club at his position and then could come back sooner. - Steve
Here's a crazy idea, sparked from Roch's post.
Why not give Berken a crack at closer?
He's been lights out this season, it would only raise his value and experience, it would let Johnson go into the setup role, and Berken can definitely pitch 2 innings. I know its completely unrelated to what you are talking about but to stay on topic:
Bergeson just wasn't given enough time to prepare for this season in my eyes. The injury was a bigger deal than they let off. Because Bergeson throws soft he needs the movement on his pitches to work for him, I think that takes more prep than some pitchers out there.
I do think he will get it back, but I am happy he was sent down to get it back.
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I am not in favor of rushing Berken into a more prominent role right now. He is doing great at long relief and I say keep him there and leave well enough alone. I don't see going from that role to closer after just a couple of good outings.
He has been great in saving the pen for the next day after his last couple of games when he has come on for Bergy. - Steve
Steve,
This is definitely a good move. Bergy can work on his command issues in a less pressure environment. I would like to see him develop a second bread-and-butter pitch, when he comes back to the Majors there will be days when the sinker isn't sinking and he'll need to continue to to succeed even without that pitch. More MPH on his fastball would help. Question for you, when does extended spring training end? When does a player get sent to Sarasota or sent to the minors? Thanks dude.
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Well, the short season teams all begin around mid June or a few days after that so extended spring games go up close to that. Many players are playing in those extended spring games right now and about 100 or so roughly are currently on the rosters of the four full-season teams. Other players will enter the system when they sign after the draft this June. The O's have two teams in the Dominican Summer Lg which starts in June. - Steve
I think he means Brian Matusz
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What about him????
It all comes back to that dull afternoon game during the home stand against Tampa. Bergy needs to go back down and regroup or maybe he would be a better fit coming out of the pen. The only enjoyment I received sitting behind the plate during that crap fest of a game was watching Berken drop the off speed stuff right on the front of the dish. With the exception of the mistake pitch to Upton, fastball in but not in enough, he was cruising. If he can get that off speed pitch working front door and then spot the cheese ball, (broken bat city), he will definitely fit right in behind Millwood, Gutherie and Matusz. Jeremy needs to stop thinking so much out there. All these guys need to start getting first pitch aggressive. They need to dust a few batters off the dish, put them on their butts every now and then. It will help when you need to drop in the off speed stuff and open that outside part of the plate. If you can't get a first pitch strike and you can't spot your fastball you need to leave the show. Hitting will heat up with the weather. I want to see some wins with pitching. What do ya think Steve?
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Not sure if you are saying Berken to the rotation, but I don't see that. Then again, I was wrong about Bergy being sent down this soon. You are right, strike one is a very important pitch and they need to get ahead of hitters. They have three of four starters going pretty well right now and Hernandez had one of two outings that was solid. - Steve
Gotta feel for Bergesen. He was in the zone last year and he just hasn't found it yet this year. I was thinking maybe the O's could just skip him one turn but heading to Norfolk for a month or two is better.
Berken should stay in the pen since he is doing so well there. So, the question is, who starts on May 1st? My early money is on Simon. He would only have one extra day of rest and has decent numbers for Norfolk. Personally, I would really like to see Arrieta and it would be really hard to keep him down if he puts up another good start. It also might work out to Arrieta's advantage if Norfolk goes to a 6 man rotation until then.
Steve,
Bergesen is easy to root for and he has had success as he progressed through all levels of the Minors and 3+ very solid months with the O's last year. Arguably, the best feel-good story of '09. This was an easy baseball decision as he has options and he needs to get himself right. With Chris Tillman's struggles, you know it is not automatic. He was part of the projected rotation all winter and he is nowhere near being the next guy up given his struggles at Norfolk. That really is the "Inventory" comment we hear that reminds you that you need 7 or 8 starters to get through most seasons whether via injury or performance. Just like Tillman, Bergesen will be back. Unfortunately, we don't have to rush anyone given that this looks llike another tough season overall. You are never as bad as you look when you are going badly and conversely not as good as you look when you are winning.
Net is Brad needs to get his confidence, health, and "sink" back. I wouldn't bet against him. I'd just give him time and that is one thing that we do have given our timeline is not 2010.
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All very good points, jpk. Thanks. Still will be interesting to see who gets the start on May 1st, the next time they will be at the end of a five-man rotation after upcoming off days. - Steve
I hope so. He was a real exciting player for us last year and even though he's struggling right now we shouldn't totally lose faith or ridicule him. Maybe he's not totally healthy cause his sinker isn't sinking- Scott
Bergy was one of my favorite pitchers to watch coming into this season and he still is. I have a lot of confidence in him. He had a splendid rookie season last year, impressed/surprised so many people, and Brad is still 24 years old. You have to feel bad for him though because he had to recover from two big injuries: The bruised shin from Billy *pain in the butt*ler and the sprained shoulder from the infamous commerical shoot. Bergy had to rush to try to get back on schedule and that was not a good idea. A trip to Norfolk should benefit Bergy because it will allow him to settle down in a much less-pressured environment and allow him to fix his mechanics that were totally off this season. Brad looked very uncomfortable yesterday and it seemed like he was trying to catch a train with the way he rushed his delivery. Also, Bergy's command yesterday is another factor that describes how "off" he is this season. I think Bergy is going to be back very soon because he is still a very good pitcher with a lot of potential but a lack of confidence at the moment. We're pulling for you, B.B.
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Well said. - Steve
Steve,
Couple questions for you, what are Bergy's other pitches? Does he have a sinking fastball and a secondary straight fastball? Four-seamer, two-seamer? From watching Wakefield pitch, if he didn't have the knuckleball working he usually got lit up. Your thoughts on another, what I label out pitch, for Bergy; other than the sinker? Does he throw a circlechange? Thanks dude.
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He's your basic sinker-slider pitcher that also mixes in some changeups. Pretty sure the sink comes from the two seamer. He really needs to get the sink back. That is, as he has said, his bread and butter.
Another factor in his success last year was his exceptional control of those pitches and getting ahead of hitters. Right now he is avg 5.2 walks per nine innings which says he has nowhere near the pinpoint control we saw last year. So he is looking to get his movement and control both back at this point. - Steve
There is no way we can give up on Bergy yet. I think he's just pressing right now and trying to live up to what he was supposed to be this year based off what we saw last year. I mean some people had him higher in the rotation than Guthrie. He'll be back sooner than later. Patience is understood when it comes to our young arms. ....... Now as for Trembley.....lol. Had to get my Trembley dig in.
That first deal is insane for the Padres. No way. The second deal, I'm not sure the O's would make. Why take a legitimate major leagu star like Adam Jones and trade him? If we are good enough to trade for Gonzalez, and we aren't right now, then we have to trade prospects, not part of the major league nucleus.
Bergy is going to be awesome. He just needs to get back in rythm after a long time off. He was terrific last year, he has all the intangibles and I bet we see him back here before the all-star break.